The present invention relates to an ink liquid supply system in an ink jet system printer of the ink-on-demand type.
The present invention relates, more particularly, to an ink liquid reservoir mounted on a carriage in an ink jet system printer of the ink-on-demand type.
In the conventional ink jet system printer, an ink liquid reservoir is disposed at a position separated from a carriage, and a conduit is provided between the ink liquid reservoir and the carriage which supports a printer head. A liquid supply pump system is inevitably required, which makes the ink jet system printer large and complicated.
An ink liquid supply system has been proposed, wherein an ink liquid reservoir is mounted on the carriage. In such a system, attention should be given to the fact that mechanical vibration is applied to the ink liquid reservoir when the carriage performs the reciprocating movement.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an ink liquid reservoir mounted on a carriage, the ink liquid reservoir ensuring a stable operation even though mechanical vibration is applied to the ink liquid reservoir due to the movement of the carriage.
Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
To achieve the above objects, pursuant to an embodiment of the present invention, an ink liquid reservoir is mounted on a carriage and is connected to a printer head. An opening is formed in the ceiling wall of the ink liquid reservoir to ensure a stable ink liquid supply from the ink liquid reservoir to the printer head. A plurality of partition walls are secured to the bottom wall of the ink liquid reservoir in a manner such that the free ends of the respective partition walls are spaced apart from the ceiling wall of the ink liquid reservoir. The thus provided partition walls function to damp the disturbance of the ink liquid when the carriage is driven to travel.